Memories Are Made of This
by ihearttvsnark
Summary: After a rough day, Lulu and Dante both end up at Jake's and realize it's the anniversary of the day they met. Oneshot


Lulu Spencer was having the kind of day that made her wish she could bury her face in a pillow and scream until she felt human again.

One of her brothers was lying in a hospital bed after being shot by a crazy man with a gun. Her other brother was going out of his mind with worry because his newborn baby had been kidnapped from the hospital by a psychopath. Then there was her other brother who was tasked with finding said psychopath to rescue the baby their brother had fathered with his ex-fiancée.

If that wasn't enough to drive a girl insane, her boyfriend was also trying to track down the psycho and the baby while keeping an eye on the local mob enforcer who could easily decide to murder him at a moment's notice and then run off into the sunset with his girlfriend. Throw in an obnoxious boss who did not give a damn about any of those things because there was a crisis with a layout and it was enough to make her head explode.

She needed a drink.

Lulu's whole body was tense when she walked into Jake's. The layout was done, Ethan was sleeping, Nikolas was with Elizabeth and Dante and Lucky were doing their detective thing. There was nothing she could do for any of them except wait and do her best to stay out of the way (which went against every Spencer instinct she had). But she trusted Dante and Lucky to do their jobs and she knew Lucky would not let Jason hurt Dante. (That did not stop her from keeping her phone clutched tightly in her hand in case there was news).

She tried her best to smile and make polite small talk with Coleman, but he saw right through her charade. He offered her an ear and a shoulder if she was interested, but Lulu declined. She wasn't a pour-her-heart-out kind of girl and she was too wound up to sit down at the bar. She did accept the free beer he gave her with a genuine smile and made her way to the jukebox. Her dad always said music made everything better (or worse) and the right song was just a click away.

She was debating between blues and classic rock when she felt someone behind her. The initial tension of someone invading her personal space melted away in an instant as she breathed in the familiar scent of his skin. His warm hands settled on her hips and her heart skipped a beat for a different reason as she turned to face him.

Dante Falconeri looked as tired and stressed out as she felt, but when their eyes met, he gave Lulu a genuine smile. "Hi there," he said softly.

"Hi," Lulu replied. She stepped closer so their bodies were completely pressed together and tilted her head up for a kiss. He didn't hesitate to cover her mouth with his and for a brief moment, she let herself forget the outside world and basked in the tingling kiss.

His hands were still on her hips and he dropped his forehead to hers when the kiss broke. He could see the fear in her eyes and the tension in her body. He wished he had better news. Hell, he wished he had any news that could ease her mind.

"How did you know I was here?" Lulu asked. She traced her fingers lightly over his chest, needing as much contact as possible.

"Did I forget to mention I had a GPS tracker installed so I know where you are at all times?" Dante replied with a shrug. He pressed his lips to her neck and her skin heated from his touch. "My bad," he teased.

Lulu laughed and lightly shoved him back so she could see his face. "Dante."

After all those months of being "Dominic" the sound of his name on her lips still made his blood pump harder. He captured her lips again, needing to feel her warmth. "I saw your car when I was driving by," he admitted.

Lulu nodded. "Any news?" she asked tentatively. She knew he would have told her already if something major had happened, but she wanted to know everything.

Dante shook his head. "Lucky is working on figuring out who this Jane Morgan really was and how she could be connected to Franco. Jason and Spinelli are doing whatever illegal hacking thing Spinelli does and Ronnie is keeping an eye on Jason because he doesn't trust me to do it so I figured I'd head home and try and sleep for a few hours."

Lulu heard the thinly veiled anger in his voice. She knew it bothered him that Ronnie didn't trust him because of Sonny. She also knew there was no point in talking the issue to death when he was already upset. "Why don't you grab a beer? It's probably good for us to stay out of the loft for awhile," she suggested.

"All right," Dante agreed. It had been a long day – hell it had been a long week – and he knew he wouldn't get any sleep if he went home. He walked to the bar and Coleman wordlessly handed him a beer. Dante knew the guy was a crook, but he was the epitome of the perfect bartender. He knew when people wanted to talk and when they wanted to be left alone. As he made his way back to Lulu, Dante was struck by a sense of déjà vu.

Lulu decided on the classic rock song and pushed the button just as Dante's arm slid around her waist. "Do you know what I realized as I was walking over here?" he asked.

"Something about the case?" She turned to face him, her eyes wide with nerves.

"No," Dante replied quickly. "About a year ago, I was in here and I met this girl by the jukebox. I think her name was Trixie."

"Trixie? Really?" Lulu tried her best to keep the smile off her face. "What was this Trixie girl like?" she asked casually.

"Gorgeous," Dante replied, his familiar wide smile brightening his face. "By far the hottest girl I've ever seen and she was sweet too. She was trying to do something nice for her friends." He squeezed her hip.

Lulu nodded. "She sounds pretty spectacular." She moved out of his grip and walked toward the pool table. "Now that you mention it, I met a guy here once too. His name was Thor."

"Thor?" Dante laughed. "Was he God-like or just overcompensating?"

"Definitely overcompensating," Lulu said as she racked the balls. She glanced at Dante over her shoulder. "He had the worst pick up lines. He was embarrassing himself."

Dante handed her a pool cue. "I bet they weren't that bad. Did he use the 'is your dad a baker because he makes great buns' line?" he asked.

"Not at first," Lulu replied. She leaned over the table and took the first shot, sending the balls scattering. "But he did before the night was over. His first line was 'do you come here often?' Can you believe that?" She bit the corner of her lip to hold her smile back.

"That's a great first line," Dante replied defensively. "It's direct and it's a genuine question. I bet it got the conversation flowing. I like this Thor guy." He moved around Lulu to take his shot.

"What about Trixie?" Lulu asked. She stepped back from the table and took a sip of her beer. "How did she feel about pick up lines?"

"She loved them," Dante replied, wincing when his ball missed the pocket by a mile. "She kept saying it was only a game of pool, but no one believed her. I took a survey and everything."

This time, Lulu couldn't stop herself from laughing. "A survey? Wow, you must have really liked this Trixie girl if you were willing to take a survey." She lined up her shot and the ball sailed into the pocket.

"What happened to Thor?" Dante asked.

"My brothers beat the hell out of him and I had to take him to the emergency room." Lulu sighed and shook her head. "It was such a waste of a perfectly good night, but I felt obligated to make sure he wasn't going to sue them."

Dante snorted into his beer. "It sounds to me like you just wanted to spend more time with him. Maybe you were hoping to get a glimpse of his body when he had to take his shirt off for the exam," he said.

Lulu blushed as she remembered the flutter of anticipation that had come over her while he unbuttoned his shirt in the hospital room. At the time she'd been annoyed with him, but that hadn't stopped her from appreciating what she saw. "He was nothing special," she countered. "There were too many cuts and bruises for my taste, but I think Epiphany enjoyed the moment."

"I'm definitely her favorite patient," Dante agreed. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Lulu, pulling her back flush against him. "Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked quietly against her ear.

She relaxed in his arms, letting her head fall back against his shoulder. "I don't believe you have."

"Allow me to correct that mistake," Dante said. He spun in her around and lightly caressed her cheek. His gaze held hers and the intensity in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. "I love you, Trixie. Almost as much as Angelina. She was another girl I met here," he added.

Lulu burst out laughing. "Thanks, Thor. I'd say I love you too, but my heart belongs to Biff Beauregard. He's the only man for me."

Dante's smile widened. "He sounds like a lucky man. But can he do this?" His mouth was urgent when it landed on hers in a frantic, hot kiss that had her lips parting in surprise. He held her there, deepening the kiss before her brain could register what was happening. Without hesitating, he slid his tongue over hers and nearly lost it when she sighed softly in response.

Lulu wrapped her arms around him, bringing him as close to her as possible. She surrendered to the assault of his lips on hers and answered back with the heat, passion and hunger inside her that desperately craved him until they were both breathless and gasping for air.

Dante pulled back, remembering they were in public and tucked a stray piece of hair behind Lulu's ear. "So do I have a shot to break Biff's hold on you?" he asked.

Lulu tried to regulate her breathing and ignore the stars that were floating in front of her eyes from that kiss. "Maybe," she teased.

"Maybe?" Dante raised an eyebrow. "I sense a challenge in that statement." He leaned closer to her. "What do you say we go back to my place and I spend the rest of the night proving my love to you?" he suggested.

His voice was low and seductive against her ear and Lulu could already feel the familiar need coiling in her stomach. Maybe it was selfish to be this happy when everything was falling apart around them, but she was not about to let go of this feeling – not after it had taken her so long to finally find someone who she could trust with her heart.

"What's wrong?" Dante asked, snapping out of the lighthearted moment when he saw the serious look in her eyes.

Lulu shook her head, needing a moment to pull herself together so her voice didn't shake when she spoke. "I love you, Dante," she said simply.

His face softened and some of the worry subsided. "I love you, too, Lulu." Dante tightened his grip on her and hugged her close. "That's never going to change," he assured her.

"I know," Lulu said quietly as she fisted his shirt in her hand. Composed, she looked up at him and smiled. "You were saying something about going back to your place and proving something to me…"

Dante grinned. "Right this way, gorgeous." He kept his arm around her waist as they made their way to the door. "By the way, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" he asked.

Lulu rolled her eyes, but her grin reflected the warmth that burst straight from her heart. A year ago she never would have believed it if someone had told her she would be this in love with a man who she could trust with everything she had.

They owed it all to Trixie and Thor.


End file.
